YES, pack your grip!

NO way pedro, It's a strawberry life for you.

I have no idea, I'm just a dabber. ;)

I know this is a long shot but I want to put this question to bed really by trying to get a definite answer.

I Served for 7 yrs as a stoker in the RN, best times of my life tbh.

I was medically discharged due to a rare cancer, since then I beat it have have been clear for years but I have now had two hip replacements since.

I was wanting to know the chances of joining back up as a regular or in the reserves in the state I am?
Fitness is not an issue, it's the operations I have had.

Does anyone have any experience in this area?
Tbh my common sense says no way shippers but I kinda need to know as I'm only 28 and if there is even a glimmer of hope ill be back in there like swimwear and living the life in a blue one, cleaning the world!

And is the rnr really that bad?! Tbh I don't know that much about em apart from meeting a couple of RNR tossers during an ISSC.
Pardon my French.

Click to expand...

Yeah it's pump.

First things first after waiting a year to join, they'll try and make you do Raleigh again and start at the very bottom with the sprogs off the street. Your time in the RN means **** all to them so you'll spend your first year sitting in lectures learning how to iron and brushing up on who to salute and who not to.

Next up it will be a massive hassle to sort out your docs because it involves slightly more work than processing a new joiner. This means you won't get paid for the first few months, also means you can't be issued rig or take part in any training away from the unit.

And finally, it's not actually that exciting. You rarely do any actual branch training and opportunities to deploy on ships are very limited. Expect to wait upto a year for things like BSSC which you obviously need before you can do anything. All courses are massively oversubscribed.

So in summary, if you want free use of an average gym and the opportunity to go dinghy sailing a lot then the RNR is for you. If you want to be a reservist in anything resembling a military organisation, try elsewhere.

Oh well that's that out of the window right there!
Best part about it was getting my hands dirty.
Although I did expect to go through Raleigh again since it's been nearly 3 years since my medical discharge.

Tbh I got f'ed over, the only reason I were outed was due to redundancies even though they say it does not influence their decision.

I had cancer! And they said I couldn't go to sea for a couple of years for recovery but I could still work along side and on ships docked so I thought I was going to be retained but I got my letter through and their reason for discharge was "Being landed for an extended period of time will cause disharmony within the engineering branch"
What a load of bull. Lol

So that leaves RFA and the RN
I did make a call a few months ago but never got a full knowledgeable answer. It's always in the back of my mind and would like to put it to bed.

Not so fast. Don't want to raise any hopes unnecessarily, however.....
I read your post and then checked the MCA (remember that RFA is merchant primarily) and found a Merchant Shipping Notice, MSN 1839 (M). It covers medical exams and standards. Annex A, Reference 2 covers cancer, and Reference 13 covers musculo-skeletal conditions. See how you fit in with the MCA criteria then give occy health a call. She's a good egg and will give you a more definitive answer than the forum. Good luck.

I feels like ive been cut down before my prime for sure, at only 28yrs old I got tons more sea days left in me
Would love to get back in a blue one but if the RFA is my only option which is probably the reality of my situation then I'm more than happy to see if I'm eligible.